Westminster terror attack: Rugby man nearly hit by car on bridge

Jack Duggan

A Rugby man was nearly hit by the car which ploughed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge yesterday (Wednesday, March 22).

Rob Lyon told multiple national news organisations about his experience during the terror attack in London, saying he was in shock and saw many casualties.

The 34-year-old was walking along the bridge with a colleague when he saw a 4x4 vehicle travelling at high-speed towards him.

“I heard a wheel definitely hit a kerb, quite a loud crunch noise. I looked up and saw a car clearly hitting people as it came towards me,” he told The Guardian.

“A colleague I was with, James, I heard him sort of shout. I instinctively jumped off the pavement. I could see people being hit.

“And then the car just carried on up the bridge and I just looked around and was really in shock.”

Four people were killed, including the attacker and a police officer who was stabbed, in the attack which shut down Parliament.

Seven people were arrested overnight after raids at six addresses across the country, including Birmingham.

Mr Lyon was in London to raise awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to ITV News, but was determined to stay and ‘not let terrorists stop him’.

“My first thought was to get straight home and see my wife and my children,” he said.

“I’m going to stay here and I’m going to raise awareness for carbon monoxide, that’s what I came here to do and I’m not going to let them stop me.”

Speaking to Channel 4 News last night, Mr Lyon said: “We were walking along the bridge just letting some Chinese tourists take some photographs, we gave them some space, and the next thing I hear is a crash of a wheel, hitting the kerb. That sort of kerbing sound you can make but very loud.

“I then took stock of what had happened, I could see people in front of me who were very badly injured.

The eyewitness admitted to The Express he thought the driver mounting the kerb was an accident.

“I genuinely thought it was an accident. I expected someone to have had a heart attack maybe and hit the accelerator,” he said.

“I expected him to hit the side of the bridge and stop but it was the correction of the steering and then to carry on I realised this was something more serious.”